[Why&Next] CJ Freshway Acquires a "Loss-Making Company"...What Is Its Game Plan?

Mobile ordering replaces phone and fax
CJ Freshway bets on online transition

CJ Freshway has acquired a food-tech company that operates an open-market platform for food ingredients dedicated to restaurant operators. The company judged that the axis of competition in the foodservice and food-ingredient distribution market is shifting from logistics scale and price to digital capabilities. The ability to integrate ordering, settlement, and overall operation management into a single platform is emerging as a key factor that will determine future market competitiveness.

CJ Freshway Yangsan Logistics Center. Photo by CJ Freshway.

Why Marketboro?

Established in 2016, Marketboro is a food-tech company that provides mobile-based food-ingredient ordering, purchase and sales management, and operational data analysis services for restaurant businesses. It operates Sikbom, an open market for restaurant food ingredients, and Marketbom, a business-to-business (B2B) food-ingredient distribution software-as-a-service (SaaS). Restaurant owners can order food ingredients via smartphones or tablets and manage the operational status of their stores in real time.

Unlike the previous ordering method that relied on phone calls and faxes, the platform offers higher efficiency and reduces labor burden, leading to a rapid increase in users. As of December 2025, Marketboro's cumulative transaction value amounts to 12.68 trillion won. The cumulative amount of investment attracted is about 60 billion won. Industry observers say that by preempting the digital transformation trend in the restaurant and foodservice market, the company is solidifying its position in the domestic B2B food-ingredient commerce sector.

CJ Freshway's investment was carried out in stages. In June 2022, the company made its first investment by acquiring a 27.48% stake in Marketboro for about 40.3 billion won. At the time, the stated purpose of the acquisition was "to strengthen market competitiveness." It was interpreted as a strategic decision that took into account the potential for the online transition of food-ingredient distribution. This time, CJ Freshway moved to secure management control. On February 5, CJ Freshway announced that it had additionally acquired 1,657 shares of Marketboro for about 40.3 billion won. Including the shares it already held, the company has now secured a total of 3,314 shares, raising its ownership stake to 55%, a majority shareholding. In effect, CJ Freshway has acquired Marketboro for a total of 80.6 billion won. The latest acquisition amount corresponds to 9.7% of its equity capital as of the end of 2024.

CJ Freshway has focused on "data." Order histories, consumption patterns, and store operation information accumulated through the platform lead to demand forecasting, cost control, and logistics optimization. The company views this as a foundation for transforming its business model from simple distribution to a data-driven structure. Its choice of an equity acquisition, rather than a simple partnership, is interpreted as an intention not to outsource digital capabilities but to absorb them as an internal competitive strength.

Marketboro's external growth has been rapid. In 2024, it posted sales of 26.1 billion won, up 77% from 14.7 billion won a year earlier. The increase was driven by higher commission revenue alongside the expansion of merchandise transactions. Commission revenue in 2024 came to 8,196.69 million won, more than doubling from 3,399.91 million won in the previous year.

However, profitability remains a challenge. Marketboro recorded an operating loss of 9.9 billion won in 2024. Although the loss narrowed from the 12.7 billion won operating loss posted a year earlier, the company is still in the red. Selling and administrative expenses reached 15.4 billion won, and advertising and promotion expenses (about 2 billion won), sales promotion expenses (4.4 billion won), and personnel-related costs acted as burdens. Industry watchers expect CJ Freshway to focus not on short-term profit but on securing data and customer touchpoints over the mid to long term.

Financially Strong CJ Freshway, Delivering Results

On a consolidated basis, CJ Freshway posted sales of 3.4811 trillion won and operating profit of 101.7 billion won last year, surpassing the 100 billion won operating profit mark for the first time since its founding. Compared with a year earlier, sales increased by 7.9% and operating profit by 8.1%. Despite internal and external uncertainties, analysts say that strengthening a profitability-focused business model across all business segments, including distribution and foodservice, and preemptively securing online-based growth engines led to the improvement in results.

The double-digit growth of its online distribution business is also notable. As mobile ordering has rapidly increased among restaurant operators and foodservice sites, digital channels combined with the existing logistics infrastructure are becoming a new growth pillar. The market expects that the acquisition of Marketboro will serve as an opportunity to elevate this trend to the next level.

By business segment, sales in the distribution business (restaurant food ingredients and food raw materials) reached 1.5621 trillion won. The merger with its subsidiary Fresh One strengthened synergies between product and logistics capabilities and improved operational efficiency, contributing to better profitability. In particular, the online distribution business saw annual sales grow by 55%, demonstrating in its results the effectiveness of its online-to-offline (O2O) strategy that combines online and offline distribution capabilities.

Sales in the foodservice business (foodservice ingredients and foodservice operations) amounted to 1.8934 trillion won. The foodservice ingredient segment grew on the back of expanded new orders focused on high-margin accounts and the competitiveness of its private brand (PB) products, while the foodservice operations segment expanded its scale mainly at large concession sites such as airports. Revenue related to the "Kitchenless" model, which includes mobile foodservice and ready-to-eat convenience meal services, increased by 22% year-on-year.

Amid this trend of improving performance, group-level attention has continued. It is known that Chairman Lee Jae-hyun visited CJ Freshway in person at the end of last year to encourage executives and employees. He was reported to have highly praised the turnaround in performance and the structural improvement achieved in the foodservice and food-ingredient businesses.

Im Sungcheol, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of CJ Freshway, said, "By upgrading our fundamental competitive strengths in products and logistics and driving digital transformation, we have established a profitability-centered growth structure and achieved operating profit in the 100 billion won range for the first time since our founding," adding, "This year, we will accelerate the generation of O2O results and fully implement our Kitchenless strategy to prove the effectiveness of our new growth engines in the market."